Dr. Jeffery Deal departs today from Charleston en route to the Republic of Liberia, responding to a request from the office of the president of Liberia for assistance in fighting the deadly Ebola virus.

Dr Jeffery DealImage/Water Missions International

Deal is the director of health studies for Water Missions International and the inventor of a device, TRU-D Smart UVC™, that delivers a lethal dose of UV-C light to disinfect health care environments. The CDC stresses that diligent environmental disinfection and safe handling of potentially contaminated materials is paramount in settings where patients with the Ebola virus have been treated.

“We developed TRU-D SmartUVC™ technology to combat the devastating effects of hospital-acquired infections,” Deal said. “Unlike many diseases, Ebola strikes hospital workers more than any other group, making it the ultimate in potentially deadly hospital-acquired infections.”

Two units donated by TRU-D LLC will arrive in Liberia tomorrow, where Deal will assemble them before traveling to meet with health care workers at John F. Kennedy Medical Center and ELWA Hospital in Monrovia. Deal is also bringing protective garments, gowns and other isolation equipment donated by Roper St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston.

Deal’s trip will last approximately two weeks, during which he will lead the deployment of both TRU-D units by training hospital staff to operate the devices in a number of hospital environments and monitor progress for successful disinfection. The devices will then remain in the area to be deployed as needed in the Republic of Liberia.

The TRU-D SmartUVC™ technology is turned on using a remote control and once activated, delivers a lethal dose of UV-C light from a central location in the room. The UV light energy modifies the DNA structure of viral pathogens, like Ebola, so they cannot reproduce.

“The beauty of the TRU-D SmartUVC™ technology is that it is such a sophisticated device that it can calculate variables associated with any room,” Deal said. “But, it’s also incredibly easy to use and even talks the user through the activation steps to ensure that there is no room for error.”

Deal started working with WMI in 2008. He is board certified in Tropical Medicine and Otolaryngology, the medical specialty associated with ear, nose and throat conditions. Under Deal’s direction, WMI conducted a first of its kind health impact study that demonstrated a quantifiable reduction in diarrheal disease as a result of WMI’s implementation of a community-wide safe water and sanitation solution.

About TRU-D

TRU-D SmartUVC is the device of choice for nearly all existing independent research on UV disinfection technology, including a $2 million infection reduction study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epicenter Program at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. More than 200 TRU-Ds have been deployed to disinfect hospitals across the U.S. and internationally, including the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland; the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina; and Houston Methodist in Houston, Texas. For information and links to independent studies on TRU-D, visit www.TRU-D.com.

About Water Missions International:

Water Missions International is a nonprofit Christian engineering organization providing sustainable safe water and sanitation solutions for people in developing countries and disaster areas. Using state-of-the-art technology and engineering expertise, the organization has provided access to safe water for more than 2.4 million people in 49 countries on five continents since 2001. WMI implements customized solutions through a comprehensive community development model in its 10 permanent country programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Notably, Charity Navigator has awarded WMI their top rating seven years in a row, a distinction shared by only 2 percent of the charities rated by the organization. To learn more about WMI, visit www.watermissions.org.

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